"Miscarriage"

I recently presented to the Emergency Department at Fiona Stanley Hospital for a suspected (now confirmed) miscarriage. Despite it being a weekend, I was immediately seen by one of the triage nurses on arrival. When explaining my concerns, this nurse was quite kind and empathetic when listening and offering responses. Unfortunately, as it was a weekend there was no one available to perform any medical imaging scans and the estimated wait time in ED was around six hours. Even after this wait, the nurse could not guarantee that anyone would be able to assist me in this situation. The nurse’s recommendation was to return home at this point, as my bleeding was not severe, and to present to King Edward Memorial Hospital in the morning if my bleeding continued. As they are the dedicated women and baby hospital within the Perth metro area, they would have more resources available to me and an on-call ObGyn to investigate as needed. I returned home with my partner feeling disappointed and lost. This was my first pregnancy and no one had advised me of what to do if I experienced any symptoms of a miscarriage.

Needless to say, the bleeding continued the following morning so I contacted the Emergency Centre at KEMH. I was hoping to confirm that they would definitely be able to see me before travelling there, as my experience with FSH had left my confidence feeling low. The midwife I spoke with on the phone I felt was extremely abrupt and dismissive. I expressed my concerns that I was experiencing a miscarriage, and I recall their response, twice, was that they could not provide any medical advice over the phone. I repeatedly stated that I understood this, but wanted to confirm that I would be seen if I presented there. It seemed to me that when the midwife discovered that I had presented at FSH previously, they became even more exasperated, I recall stating something along the lines of, ‘they always do this’ and that KEMH would not see me, that FSH had a duty of care and I would just have to return there. At this time, it seemed there was no one recorded as being in the KEMH ED, as per the WA Health website for ED current wait times. The phone call ended and I was left feeling completely devastated.

My GP is not open on the weekend, and both hospitals that I had tried to seek assistance at had dismissed me for varying reasons. I was left feeling that I should have presented in a much more aggressive and demanding manner, and refused to listen or leave until I had been seen, which is not the person that I am. This first experience of pregnancy has left me without any faith in our public health system, and I am beyond heartbroken and furious that a first time mum was able to miscarry without any support or guidance.